Red Sox Farm System

[Zenny]

Here's a list of the Red Sox top prospects, the levels they are currently at, their upside and ETA:

Boston
Kevin Youkilis- 3B- ETA: Now, Upside: Wade Boggs
Anastacio Martinez- RHP- ETA: Now, Upside: Guillermo Mota

Pawtucket
Kelly Shoppach- C- ETA: late '04/'05, Upside: Jason Varitek

Portland
Abe Alvarez- LHP- ETA: '05, Upside: Tom Glavine
Chris Smith- RHP- ETA: late '05/'06, Upside: John Thomson
Charlie Zink- RHP- ETA: '06, Upside: Tim Wakefield*
Juan Perez- LHP- ETA: late '05, Upside: Damaso Marte

Sarasota
Matt Murton- LF- ETA: late '05/'06, Upside: Pat Burrell
Jeremy West- 1B- ETA: late '05/'06, Upside: Mike Sweeney
Hanley Ramirez- SS- ETA: '07, Upside: Edgar Renteria
Jon Lester- LHP- ETA: '07, Upside: Randy Wolf
Jon Papelbon- RHP- ETA: late '05/'06, Upside: Brad Penny
Chad Spann- 3B- ETA: '07, Upside: Sean Burroughs
David Murphy- CF/RF- ETA: '06, Upside: Unknown**
Manny Delcarmen- RHP- ETA: '07, Upside: Vicente Padilla
Jose Vaquedano- RHP- ETA: '06, Upside: Steve Trachsel
Juan Cedeno- LHP- ETA: '07, Upside: Unknown***

Augusta
Brandon Moss- RF- ETA: '07, Upside: Bobby Abreu
Beau Vaughn- RHP- ETA: '08, Upside: Wade Miller
Jarrett Garnder- LHP- ETA: '07, Upside: Jarrod Washburn

*Zink walks way too many people right now. His knuckleballs are quality, but not consistent. If he nails that down, he'll be Wake Jr. If not, he'll be Steve Sparks. Yuck.

**Murphy has been hurt most of the season and hasn't hit a lick when he's in the line-up. He still has lots of major-league potential, but it's becoming less and less likely he reaches it.

***Cedeno throws the ball harder than a mofo, but he's got no control and no other pitches. He could be great, but he could suck balls too.

NOTE: The younger the player and the lower the level he plays at, the less likely it is for him to reach potential, especially for the non-college draftees. But, it is also more likely that they exceed expecations as well.

[yeszir]

Youkilis = Boggs. Awesome.

Thanks for initiating this forum Zenny!

[TheFens]

Since Zen appears to be master of the minors, let me ask him a question:

Who is your favorite prospect Zen? Who shows the most promise?

[Zenny]

My favorite prospect is definitely Kelly Shoppach.

He calls a great game, he's superb defensively and scouts say he has the best throwing arm and release point they have ever seen in a catcher. Offensively, he had a hard time making contact, but has adjusted, and is hitting well over .300 this June and his season OBP is .100 points higher than his BA. He has shown a lot of power (8 doubles and dingers) and, of late, he isn't chasing the bad pitches and is adjusting to AAA pitching. He's also second to only Adam Hyzdu on Pawtucket in walks.

At the big league level, I see him hitting .275/.400/.500/.900 with 20-25 homers, 30-35 doubles and 75-100 RBI year in and year out with Gold Glove defense and all of the trust of the pitching staff that 'Tek is known for. Shopp makes 'Tek expendable when we have a cheaper replacement who is 8 years younger with superior defense right out of the box and more offensive upside over the long-haul.

Boras can have his golden-boy catcher go play for someone else; I think the future needs a place in this franchise.

I also like Abe Alvarez, Matt Murton and Jon Papelbon a lot. Jeremy West, Jon Lester and Youk are up there on my personal list as well.

[yawkeyway]

And as an added bonus, Shoppach has a cool abbreviation! Shoppach = Shopp. Its like we dont need Tek anymore. If Tek we're with Boras I wouldn't really look so heabily upon Shoppach, but Tek is going to be, whether he wants to be or not, a greedy money grubbing bastard. Prospects might be the solution to Boras.

[CalvnHobs6]

I know Hanley Ramirez was out with an injury a little while ago...is he back yet?

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CalvnHobs6@Jun 16 2004, 01:16 PM
I know Hanley Ramirez was out with an injury a little while ago...is he back yet?

Nope, he's still nursing his wrist injury, but his return should come soon. Maybe in the next week or two.

[TheKilo]

This could be the weakest trolling attempt ever.